Philosophy by the Way

Selfie Narcissism is a characteristic of some political leaders. It’s a characteristic that brought them to the top. Narcissism is not only ...

Random quote “I have done that,” says my memory. ‘I cannot have done that,” says my pride, and remains inexorable. Eventually – my memory y...

The fallacy “Guilt by Association”, discussed in my last blog, is related to two other fallacies, which I have already treated before: argum...

Random quote The translation of our social relationships, for example friendship, into a matter of investment and benefits seems to be guid...

Photo taken at Fort Breendonk, Belgium, a former fortification,  which  served as a Nazi prison camp during World War II It occurs so often ...

Selfie A selfie is an ideal self-representation that derives its strength from a public relationship that everyone can establish and no lon...

In his essay “ Of three employments ” ( Essays , III-3), Montaigne distinguishes between dealing with friends, with women, and with books. H...

Random quote The societies wherein less disparity is permitted between masters and servants seem to me the most equitable. Michel de Monta...

It is an often-used practise in negotiations, for example in the business world and in politics: The so-called salami tactics, also called s...

Random quote I never travel without books. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)

Rokin Undergroun d Station, Amsterdam Waiting. Everybody does it and spends much time on it. Therefore, it is surprising how little attentio...

Random quote Philosophy is the entirety of all primitive propositions that are supposed to be true without evidence from the various scienc...

Passengers waiting for the train in a metro stattion in Rotterdam You find it in many big cities: the metro, underground, subway, tube, or h...

Random quote If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the t...

I have written here already more about him, but in these days that violence and power are so on the foreground in the news, I cannot resist ...

Random quote Conducting our public discourse as if it were possible to outsource moral and political judgment to markets, or to experts and...

La Gleize, Belgium: Monument to the victims of the Second World War Many people, including most politicians, are talking about violence only...

Random quote Tyrants are only great because we are on our knees. Étienne de La Boétie (1530-1563)

John the Baptist Fountain in Basel Montaigne loved travelling. Usually he travelled for practical purposes; for his work (he has been a judg...

Random quote The common genetic element with the largest known effect on propensity for violence is the Y chromosome, but we don’t take its...

Erasmus's Gravestone in the Minster in Basel When I was on holiday in the southern part of the Alsace, in eastern France, a few weeks ag...

Random quote If you want to have good ideas you must have many ideas. Most of them will be wrong, and what you have to learn is which ones ...

The monument to the migrant workers in Utrecht, Netherlands Montaigne is of the past and Montaigne is of the present. Many of his observatio...

Random quote A person will be all the more learned as he becomes more aware of the fact that he knows nothing. Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464...

Sometimes I would wish that all politicians were Pinocchios, for then we would know when they were lying. For the story of Pinocchio tells u...

Random quote The lie reigns. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938-. Queen from 1980-2013)

The choir receives the applaus after a beautiful performance of the opera Boris Godunov  by Modest Mussorgsky by the Dutch National Opera in...